If you would like to read a full summary of the Odyssey, you can access it here.
We Are Still Obsessed With The Odyssey
When most people hear "the Odyssey" or "Odysseus", they roll their eyes, plug their ears, or sigh in boredom. It is true that the epic poem was written around 700 BC and therefore may seem a little dated. However, its influences in today's novels, movies, and media are irrefutable and ever-present. So why do we hate on the Odyssey when it's almost everywhere we look?
Odysseus and his men escaping Polyphemus.
Without spoiling too much of the poem, the Odyssey is the ultimate story of a man on an epic quest. Think of any adventure movie; most likely, it was directly or indirectly influenced by the Odyssey. One entertainment company that seems to have an odd obsession with the Odyssey is Disney. With movies such as Up, Finding Nemo, and Inside Out, it is evident that the Odyssey influenced these great adventure and self-understanding stories.
This isn't the first time Disney has taken inspiration from classic poems and plays. The Lion King almost exactly follows the plot of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. In Aladdin, Jafar's sidekick parrot is named Iago, the main antagonist from another play from Shakespeare, Othello.
Circling back to the Odyssey, there are several other movies outside the realm of Disney that follow the tale. These include The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Revenant, Cold Mountain, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? You could even stretch the influence of the Odyssey a little further and say that the entire Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings franchises follow the idea of an epic quest as well.
For space and time's sake, I'll focus on O Brother, Where Art Thou? in comparison to the Odyssey.
So, in one sentence, what is the Odyssey about? A man goes on an adventure full of grand obstacles in an effort to return home to his family from the war.
Likewise, in one sentence, what is O Brother, Where Art Thou? about? Three men break out of prison and go on an adventure through Mississippi in an effort to return home to their families, find buried treasure, and finally be free.
For space and time's sake, I'll focus on O Brother, Where Art Thou? in comparison to the Odyssey.
So, in one sentence, what is the Odyssey about? A man goes on an adventure full of grand obstacles in an effort to return home to his family from the war.
Likewise, in one sentence, what is O Brother, Where Art Thou? about? Three men break out of prison and go on an adventure through Mississippi in an effort to return home to their families, find buried treasure, and finally be free.
The similarities are uncanny. As if the two stories couldn't be more similar, there is a scene included in OBWAT? where the three men hear women singing and washing clothes in a river off the road. When they investigate further, the men are seduced by the women, whom the character Pete calls "sirens".
Click the photo to watch the movie clip!
Furthermore, the men run into a man called Big Dan, who is very heavy, silver-tongued, and happens to wear an eye-patch. This is almost a direct reference to Polyphemus, a cyclops who Odysseus tries to bargain with and eventually blinds in the Odyssey.
(Spoiler Alert: Big Dan, who is also a member of the local Klu Klux Klan, is almost blinded/impaled by a flying, javelin-like KKK flag. He catches it, but is crushed by a burning cross.)
(Spoiler Alert: Big Dan, who is also a member of the local Klu Klux Klan, is almost blinded/impaled by a flying, javelin-like KKK flag. He catches it, but is crushed by a burning cross.)
Click the photo to watch the movie clip!